Wrestle your knowledge through an anecdotal article on several present-day professional wrestlers. They describe their experiences leading up to becoming a professional and what it’s like to currently be one. Through an extensive interviewing process wrestlers recounted on their favorite match, how they acquired their stage name, and their reason for going pro. 

Nate Alston

What was your favorite match that you have had?

Nate Alston’s favorite match is a toss-up.

“It was between the match I had at the end of 2014 when my father (“Fantastic” Jim Nastic), my tag team partner at the time (“Hispanic Wonder” Boom Boom), and I teamed up to face The Brothers of Morality at RPW Saves Christmas. The other match was my triple threat tag team championship match. Or it was at the PVP the year after, when I teamed up with former rival Ryan Malice to take on The Minute Men (Devin Blaze & Tommy Train wreck) and The Aristocrats (Zachary Pierre Beaulieu & Wulfgar (champions)).”

What company do you wrestle for?

“I grew up around wrestling and met a lot of people because my dad wrestled all of my childhood.  I’ve been wrestling for two years.”

He was 19 years old, turning 20 when he first started.

“I’ve wrestled for Revival Pro Wrestling, Pioneer Valley Pro Wrestling, Hispanic American Wrestling Alliance, New England Frontier Wrestling, Veteran Pro Wrestling, Carnival Wrestling Experience, Blitzkrieg Pro Wrestling, P. W. C. Pro Wrestling Combine, and I believe I can say Deception Pro Wrestling.”

What made you decide to become a pro wrestler? Tell me about being a professional wrestler.

“I have known about pro wrestling since I was four. I went to wrestling shows with my father since that age and fell in love with the sport. My biggest challenge in pro wrestling besides getting to as many shows as possible, is probably staying in shape, getting bookings without someone to make the move for me, and keeping up the front that I’m a jerk when I’m a bad guy on a show I’m booked for. As of right now I have not held a title for pro wrestling but I’ve come really close.”

How did you come up with your stage name?

“I actually didn’t name myself, my dad named me. In 2012 when I started college my father had a match that October and asked me if I wanted to go with him. I brought my friends, as I was his manager when he faced the original Doink the Clown (may he Rest In Peace), and since then I’ve been known in the wrestling world as The Natural Nate Nastic.”

Rafael Martinez Jr.

Rafael Martinez Jr. said that his inspiration is Hulk Hogan. He said it was his lifelong dream to be a pro wrestler and he wanted his son to look up to him, and to be proud of him. He was 28 years old when he first started. Narciso Rex told him about pro wrestling.

Since then he has been wrestling for two years after signing on with a company named RPW. He as not won any champion titles yet, but RPW tribute to the 90’s was his favorite match.

Martinez Jr. stated, “the hardest thing about pro wrestling is when I faced last call.”

Rosalie Valle

Rosalie Valle says that her inspirations are Trish and Lita. She says that sensational Sherri was her all-time favorite.  She been wrestling for two and a half years. Her favorite match was up against former TNA knock out ODB.

She was 21 years old when she first started.  She has wrestled all over the place, too many to count. A few places that she has wrestled in are New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine and Indiana.

Valle has always been a fan of wrestling. She decided to be a wrestler after she saw Bret and Shawn Michaels.  She currently holds two titles for two different promotions – one for Connecticut and one for Massachusetts. They have been an honor and privilege to wear.

Spencer Charette
Spencer Charette says that his inspiration is his mother and his brother Dennis. He said that wrestling was his dream and he needed to follow it. He has been wrestling for two years. He first started when he was 24. His favorite match had to be going up against TKO Ryan at New Spring Slam.

The companies that he wrestles for are Northeast Wrestling, Xtreme Wrestling Alliance, Chaotic Wrestling, Blitzkrieg Pro Pioneer Valley, Pro Fight the World Wrestling, and Suffolk Wrestling Alliance. He heard about pro wrestling on TV.  The titles that he has held are PWA OX Baker Old School Heavyweight Title PWA Independent Title PWA Tag Team Title.

William King III
William King III’s inspiration is his dad.

“Even when providing for our family took time to try things like standup comedy and go after dreams so I knew that as long as I kept my priorities in order I could do anything,” he says.

“I’ve always wanted to be a wrestler, it’s honestly the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do,” King III added. He has been wrestling for 12 years. His first match was with Aaron Morrison in Holyoke, Mass. He started at 18 years old.  “I work all over New England and have wrestled in Chicago, Missouri, Kentucky, New York, Delaware and Philly,” said King III.

“I heard about it from watching it with my dad. The biggest challenge is balancing bookings with real life. Yes, I have been tag team, shooting star champion and heavyweight champ at CTWE, PVP tag champ and several others.”

Bryanna Marie
Bryanna Marie’s inspiration is Shawn Michaels. She says that she has been obsessed with since she was probably three years old.

“I always knew that I wanted to be a pro wrestler,” Marie said. I didn’t think it was possible but one day I was talking with an old friend about how badly I wanted to pursue my dream, and they said ‘so why don’t you’ and it hit me right then and there and I needed to give it a shot.”

She has been training for 13 months and wrestling matches shows for 6. It’s a tie between two. “I wrestled in a mixed tag for world of hurt wrestling a few months back. I tagged with Jeremy Leary and we wrestled Scotty wild and Delmi Exo. It was just a really fun, competitive match. And the other one, I wrestled Lucious Latasha August 26th for Top Rope Promotions. It was their big Summer Showdown so there was probably close to 600 people there. It was the biggest crowd I ever wrestled in front of and I received great feedback afterwards. It’s probably the match I’m most proud of so far.”

She was 18 years old when she first started. “I’m part of the core roster for Blitzkrieg Pro and Pioneer Pro Valley,” said Marie. “I’ve also wrestled for Top Rope Promotions, World of Hurt, and a couple fair shows. My great-grandmother actually introduced me to pro wrestling when I was really little. I would religiously go upstairs to her room and watch RAW, Smack down, Main Event, Superstars, Heat. We were both obsessed, ha-ha.”

“My biggest challenge is probably balancing it out with other aspects of my life. Wrestling is one of those things that is ‘all or nothing.’ You choose bookings over birthdays, you have set days to practice, you run on very little sleep on the weekends when traveling. There’s a lot of sacrifice. I’m a college student and I waitress and have a long-term relationship, finding balance between it all can sometimes be difficult. I have yet to hold a title, hopefully that changes Friday.”